Stick To It Tip #9

Now that you are at the end of your second month, it could be time to change things up once again. Maybe it's time to change training partners, play lists, exercises, reps, set, etc. Anything that might make you complacent about staying the course. Keep in mind your personality--if you like routine, make a minor change that doesn't upset your commitment; if you crave variety, change up when you stop making gains. This is a very vulnerable time for most exercisers, because they are past the honeymoon stage (excited about working out, learning new things) and may be tapering off some initial results (decrease in weight loss, less improvement in exercise). Again, keep in mind the other benefits of exercise and keep making the choice to remain physically active.

To Improve General Flexibility--Static Stretching

What's great about static stretching is that you can do it anytime you want (except before a weight workout). A general guideline is to do static stretching twice a day but each session can be as short as 4-5 minutes. You don't need to warm up your muscles for static stretching but you do need to keep in mind the duration of the stretch. You can hold the stretch for as little as 5-10 seconds but you will get better results with holding the stretch from 20-30 seconds. Because most of the benefits happens with the first stretch repeating the movement has little effect. Even though static stretches aren't suggested before a workout they contribute to improving your "passive" flexibility which are beneficial for daily activities such as bending, kneeling, and squatting.

Flexibility Goals for 2009

The next component to consider for my 2009 goals is flexibility. From my baseline data I found that I am pretty flexible except through my shoulders. So I need to focus on this area as well as lower back and hips - which are typically a problem as you age. With this in mind, I need to do stretching for all the major muscle groups, with focus on shoulder, lower back and hips as well as pay attention to my body alignment and posture while lifting weights and doing daily activities (sitting at the computer, walking, getting up from a chair). Putting this all together, I am planning to do the following (keep it SMART):

• At the gym I will make sure that I am align correctly on my cardio machines--set the seat and handle bars correctly from my height on the stationary bicycle; keep upright on the stairmaster and balance rather than use the hand rails; keep my running posture and stride appropriate for my speed and ability.
• After my cardio work, I will do dynamic stretches for the muscles groups I am working that day (about 5-10 minutes). During my weight workouts, I will do static stretches as passive recovery between sets. At the start of each set of exercises, I will review body alignment and posture throughout the range of motion being careful to use the correct amount of resistance (too much weight results in shorter range of motion and targets the strongest part of the movement rather than training the weakest link)
• Each evening do 15 minutes of relaxing stretching prior to going to sleep.
• Attend a Yoga class 1 or 2 times/week

At the end of 6 months, I will assess my flexibility again and review my posture for improvement of 10% (long-term goal); my intermediate goal is to meet the requirements above for the next month 90% of the time. My immediate goal is to do my evening stretches this week. My backup goal is to maintain my current flexibility baseline measures.

YWeight?: My Goals for 2009

Is Running on the Treadmill Always a Must?

Even though I have targeted the treadmill as the tool for meeting my running goal, sometimes I just don't feel like running. To make the treadmill more challenging without running you need to use the incline. After warming up for about 5 minutes, I will increase the incline every minute for 10 minutes or until it gets steep enough where if I increase any further I have to hold on to the rails or it just gets too tough. The second half of the workout I bring the incline down and increase the pace each time I lower the incline until my pace is at a point where I have to start to jog. By then it is time to do a 5 minute cool down (total time = 30 minutes). I don't do this often by when I need to take a break but keep on the treadmill this keeps me on track.

Cardiovascular Changes with Age and Exercise

It is very interesting to see how quickly I reach my maximum heart rate now that I am over 50. I work pretty hard on the stairmaster but as soon as I get to the treadmill my heart rate is high even if I am only doing a 10 minute mile. Because I rarely to the stationary bike, it takes more for me to reach my maximum heart rate but I can reach my "light" cardio goals easily. Most of this is related to my lack of cross-training and my aging. I have gotten very "fit" for using the stairmaster but not very "fit" for using the treadmill or stationary bicycle. I will continue to do the cross-training with an emphasis on improving my treadmill fitness while maintaining my stairmaster fitness and use cycling and walking as recovery activities. Maybe next year I can work on incorporating the cycling.